We all stood there, on the train tracks, in a chasm of crumbling concrete. The trucks had faded into the distance behind us and our way was forward. I had made this decision and I would stick with it. I put one foot forward and set off towards the West.
I barely even registered the others following me until Tobias leaned towards me and took my hand. He was warm and solid and I was glad in that moment that he was with me. I took courage from the fact that he would always be with me. We were doing this together, an entirely new world awaited us, or perhaps an old one.
I wonder how shattered a society would have to be to put their hope into a society of divided people. I thought that being divided somehow led to shared strength in our factions. Faction before blood and all… but I think there was always something deeply flawed about it. Maybe it's because it was all we were ever taught but towards the end there, even before all the factions dissolved and Evelyn took over, something felt wrong.
Why can't we be united? Why can't people be peaceful and ambitious or selfless and brave? Being selfless and brave is the definition of courage, my mother had it. She sacrificed herself for me in the ultimate act of courage. I won't let that be in vain.
I squeeze Tobias's hand and he looks at me and smiles a tiny crooked smile. I see that he is as nervous as I am about this new world and I smile back.
'A whole new world,' I whisper to him.
'We have to get there first,' he says with a small wistful look back at the city.
The chasm is slowly widening out and we can see over the walls. It is much the same as the city, a sort of neglect, maybe hurried escape, pervades the surrounds. There are remnants of concrete and twisted metal, foundations of houses and a lot of other rubbish pervading our line of site. But the biggest is the wilderness. The trees and bush are simply overtaking everything. Some looked old too. Like this area hadn't seen a human to chop it down in a hundred years. It made me wonder whether we were even going to find anything out here.
That set of another line of thought. What if the glimpses of the war in Edith Pryor's video didn't even exist anymore? What if we were the last human beings left on the planet? That was a sobering thought, and terrifying too. I have too many questions and not enough answers.
Cara and Caleb were talking in low voices together. I didn't really want to know what they were saying, probably some discussion of knowledge and serums and some such. Christina and Uriah followed us too but they were both silent looking about themselves warily. Peter was bringing up the rear taking everything in with narrow eyes and thin lips.
We kept walking until dawn gave way to morning. We stopped for food and water then kept walking. Christina was the first to complain.
'Urgh, my legs are killing me,' she burst out.
'You did dauntless training and you were fine,' says Uriah.
'But at least Dauntless training was interesting, all we're doing is watching a forest slowly grow. I think my legs are more tired from boredom than anything else.'
Truth be told my legs are starting to hurt too. It was the afternoon and we still hadn't come across any semblance of life. I was starting to worry. Maybe it would be better to get some kind of idea of this whole new world instead of just blindly walking into it. I say as much to Tobias.
'We should keep walking until nightfall. There's too much debris and forest in the way of seeing anything. We need to find a hill and survey the land in the dark. That way, if we see any lights, we'll know which way to go,' says Tobias. I nod to the good idea. He turns around and looks at the others for confirmation. They all look tired from our escape and the walk but they nod too. We set off again this time looking for some higher ground.
It comes in the form of a giant metal tower, a spire rising in the distance. We find a deserted road and cover the ground reasonably fast. But eventually we have to leave it for a straight path to the tower and it becomes slower and slower going.
We reach it as the sun dips into the ground in front of us. Swallowed up without a fight. The others find a squat concrete building at the base of the metal tower, the wooden door is almost rotted away but most of the ceiling is intact. They file inside and start setting up camp for the night. I stay outside with Tobias staring up at the tower. It is immense, reaching further into the sky than I would have thought possible for such a thin structure.
I turn to Tobias and see that he looks faintly ill. I smile.
'Just like old times, eh?' I laugh.
He looks at me with an incredulous look. 'There is no way in hell I am climbing that thing.'
'You climbed the Ferris wheel.'
'That was before I knew you were insane. I thought I should be a model instructor and keep you safe.'
I snort. 'I'm not the insane one that relives his fears all the time. Think of it as just another simulation. Although the aim of this one isn't to jump off the top,' I add.
He looks sick.
'I'm not helping am I?'
He shakes his head and gives me a please-shut-up look. So I do but I also draw him into my arms. I can feel his warmth under his shirt, his muscles are taught but they slowly relax into my embrace. I lean up to his mouth and he reaches down to mine.
'It'll be fine,' I breathe, 'you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I'll go up alone.'
'Not a chance,' he whispers back. I smile and kiss him again as our entwined shadows lengthen as the last rays of sun disappear into the twilight.
I walk inside and dump my pack. The others have started a small fire where part of the roof has collapsed so the smoke can escape. They are heating up cans of food and we pass them around like the Factionless. And I suppose that is what we are now. I don't want to admit it but we have left it all behind. We were alone.
I get one of the torches we have with us and tie it around my chest so I'll be able to see the metal struts in the dark. Tobias does the same looking more and more reluctant, his fingers fumbling around the rope. I catch them in my hands and kiss them, then take the rope and finish tying the knot for him. He tries to smile at me but it looks more like a grimace.
'Come on,' he mutters, 'time to climb to our deaths.'
'Don't be so morbid, Four,' says Christina, 'It'll be fun, we'll all be watching from the safety of the beautiful solid ground.'
I didn't think it was possible but his face drained of all colour.
'You're not helping,' I say out of the corner of my mouth.
'Oh, right… We'll be there in case you fall?' she gave me a questioning look.
'You're making it worse.'
'Can I have your stuff if you die?' Uriah asks with a smirk.
Tobias is staring at all of us with narrowed eyes. The force of his gaze is softened somewhat by the fact that it looks like he's going to spew at any second. I decide to take over.
'Come on, we may as well get this over with.' I grab his hand and lead him outside. 'I'm going first! So you can catch me if I fall.' I grin at him, the adrenaline is already pumping in my veins.
I grab onto the first strut and hoist myself up. This is going to be a very long climb.
